My brother had a really bad case of the flu at Christmas and upon going to the doc they said he had protein and blood in the urine in pretty high concentrations. They said sometimes a bad infection will do this. Well now two weeks later, at a followup with his pcp up at his college, it is still there. They checked him for stones and there is no sign of any. His Bp has been running high for the last year or so with the lower number running in the high 80's and 90's. He is only 28. His cholesterol was really high about two years ago. He changed everything about the way he eats and exercises and he has such a healthy lifestyle now. My daughter and myself have a rare condition of the adrenal glands that causes severe hypertention and both my adrenals were removed to prevent kidney damage when I was quite young and my daughter has had one of the surgeries so far. I know that no one here has ever heard of that but what I need to know is does it sound like his kidneys are in danger from something or what. I realize that it could be this inherited disease causing this but could it be somthing more simple and easy to fix? Heather W.


I recommend that your brother see a nephrologist. There are numerous kidney problems that can cause blood and protein in the urine, but more specifically- there are certain kidney diseases that "flare-up" during colds and flus. He should be evaluated immediately to determine the cause and to hopefully prevent any permanent damage to the kidneys. Good luck!